Baked Potato Bar

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Andrea

We’ve talked about my love for potatoes, right? I have so many great memories of potato dishes that I could never give them up. I also have a soft spot in my heart for the potato since it gets such a bad rap from the low-carb crowd.

Let’s keep things real, a white potato is not evil. It’s a vegetable and has a lot to offer us in terms of nutrition. Let’s embrace the potato!

One of my many favorite ways to eat a potato is by loading up a baked potato. Whenever I got a chance to get a loaded potato out at a restaurant, I always ordered it as a side. My high school alternated between a salad bar and a baked potato bar during the week, which I loved. A huge baked potato for lunch? Yes please!

Because of how much I adore loaded baked potatoes, I’ve taken to recreating the experience at home.

Leftover Idea: Baked Mashed Potatoes

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Andrea

I’m not sure if we’ve ever discussed how much I love potatoes but I do. I love them more than Paula Deen loves butter and just by that statement alone, you know I mean business.

Potatoes are good for you. Potatoes are a veggie that can be utilized in so many different ways. Pasta? Forget about it. I prefer my carbs and starch from root veggies, thank you.

Leftover mashed potatoes can be just lovely on their own the next day but sometimes they need a little extra love and attention.

Sometimes you just want something a little different with your leftovers.

I took some leftover mash that we had, added a few extra ingredients, baked it for about 20 minutes and got an entirely new dish out of some basic leftovers.

Andrea’s Baked Mashed Potatoes

Leftover Mashed Potatoes

5 Green Onions, chopped

1/2C Greek Yogurt

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a small baking dish. Combine all above ingredients and place in baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the the edges and top get a crispy brown. Serve hot and enjoy!

Pretty simple right? You could add some cheese in there too and maybe some bacon. Or leftover ham? Heck you could even add some greens in there like spinach for some extra veggie action. Leftovers are what you make of them, and they can be a completely different dish if you allow your imagination to wander a bit.

Pina Colada Smoothie

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Andrea

It’s the end of March and yesterday Columbus was blessed with a snowstorm that lasted all afternoon. It was the last thing that any of us wanted. Okay, well there might be a few residents who don’t mind but the rest of us were cursing and shaking our fists in the air.

So to beat the winter blues, I’m posting something springy and fun! Something that nourishes both the body and spirit.

Pina Colada smoothie! Super green in color to perk up any blah winter day and tasty enough that you might start looking around for some rum.

Andrea’s Pina Colada Smoothie

1C OJ

1C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (like SO Delicious)

2 Large handfuls of baby spinach

1 Frozen Banana

1/2 C Frozen Pineapple

1/4C Frozen Mango

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This will be a thicker smoothie, like milkshake or frozen drink style. Makes enough for two large glasses.

Perfectly tart and creamy. It tastes just like a pina colada but looks like spring. The amounts of frozen pineapple and mango are estimates because I didn’t measure those out. Go by what you like. The pineapple is more tart while the mango is more sweet. You need to use enough pineapple to ensure you get the pina colada taste because that’s what makes the smoothie.

Leftover Idea: Veggie Stuffing Bowls

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Andrea

What do you do when the only leftovers you have from a roast dinner are stuffing and gravy? This is the task I faced the other night when I was deciding on our dinner options.

I love stuffing and gravy, both of which are treats that we don’t have very often. I’ll be darned if I was going to let it go to waste!

But what to do with it?

That evening was a very cold and rainy night. Complete with freezing rain and then snow, all of which screamed for a big bowl of something warm and comforting. Then the idea came to me, why not make a stuffing bowl?

I had veggies and decided to combine that with the stuffing.

I didn’t measure anything, so the following are guesstimates.

Andrea’s Veggie Stuffing Bowls

Leftover Stuffing

Leftover Gravy

1 Small Head of Cauliflower, chopped up into bite size pieces

1 Yellow Squash, chopped into bite size pieces

Quick and Dirty Guacamole

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Andrea

Guacamole is one of those things that I instantly fell in love with. I didn’t grow up eating it and only ever had it out in restaurants which was nothing fantastic I promise you. But to me it was creamy green heaven.

It took me a while to figure out how to make a guacamole that I liked and I tried everything. With chunks, without chunks. With tomatoes, with cilantro, and so on and so on. I discovered that what Scott and I really like is just a basic and simple guac that isn’t fancy but highlights the avocado well.

This version seriously takes maybe five minutes and then you can get busy stuffing your face with goodness.

Andrea’s Quick and Dirty Guacamole

2 Avocados

1/2 a Lime

Hot Sauce (I like Cholula, but whatever floats your boat)

Salt

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

In a medium sized bowl, cut the avocados and remove the seeds. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place in bowl. With a sturdy fork, mash the avocado until it’s smooth or as smooth as you like it. Add in the juice of the 1/2 a lime, hot sauce, and all the seasonings. Stir and taste to see if it’s seasoned enough to your liking. If not add more and stir again until it’s right.

Read more on Quick and Dirty Guacamole…

Farm House Tossed Salad

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Andrea

I had on Food TV in the background, not really paying attention to it when I heard Claire Robinson talk about a salad that had a warm bacon dressing and was topped with a fried egg.

Oh really?

Now that did have my attention! Sadly not enough to stop what I was doing and see how she did it though. Admittedly I have always been intrigued by the “warm bacon dressing” trend and was never really sure how to achieve. I did notice that the bacon grease was used a lot and as much as I love bacon, I really don’t want to eat the drippings.

I know it sounds weird but well there it is. I couldn’t escape this idea though of a tossed salad with an egg on top and bacon dressing so I decided to make my own version for lunch.

I’m guessing on the measurements for you as this is more of a concept type of dish and can be adjusted how you see fit.

Chili Cheese Fries

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Andrea

Like Paula Deen, I love potatoes. LOVE them. Probably a little inappropriately. Unlike Paula Deen, I don’t think they need to be slathered in butter and cream. Cheese is always welcome. So is bacon but he is not invited to this party today.

Ever since I saw Chili Cheese Fries over at White On Rice Couple, I have been chewing at the bit to make them myself.

OHC style.

We recently had chili for a meal but I was unable to use the leftovers for chili cheese fries only because time was against me and I didn’t get around to it. This week we decided that in order to keep my sanity (we were out of fresh fruit and the veggie count was in the single digits), we made a last minute decision to hit the grocery store. We were there forever (as is typical) and I picked up a bunch of produce. Among those were some russet potatoes and some red peppers (5 for $5, heck yes!).

Holiday Party Foods 2010 Edition

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Andrea

Tis the season! Now is the time when everyone is out and attending holiday parties left and right. Heck perhaps you are even hosting one! If you need some ideas on what to make for your next gathering, OHC is here to help you out!

Just out of the oven

You can’t really go wrong with bacon and cheese right? Bacon wrapped jalapenos are the answer! Very portable and can be made ahead of time. Just heat right before serving!

Ham and Cheddar Potato Puff

Got leftover mashed potatoes? Quick and easy potato puffs are great for appetizers! Even if you don’t have leftover mashed, use fresh! These also can be made ahead of time and just need to be heated up before serving.

Pear and Brie Crostini

Maybe you’re going to a fancier party? Or maybe you just want to wow your friends? Pear and Brie Crostini is a great combo and a perfect way to put that cranberry sauce to use. It looks gorgeous and tastes just as amazing.

Thanksgiving Apple Stuffing

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Andrea

I have been cooking with apples more and more lately. Before I couldn’t stand the taste and texture of cooked apples and now I’m finding that I can tolerate it a bit more.

I still don’t want any apple pie though! You all can have that.

I’ve also been toying around with new ideas for some holiday dishes and one I played with was stuffing. Oh man both Scott and I love stuffing. Mmmmm! I love it super seasoned with crispy edges. My mom made alright stuffing but you know, I used to really like the box mix stuff! I used to make that for Scott and I all the time. Then about nine years ago, I started researching how to make stuffing from scratch and I discovered that it’s not hard at all.

From that point on, I started making homemade stuffing. This allows me to control the ingredients and how much seasoning I want, it’s a win-win for us all! Plus you know homemade is better than any box of whatever.

Creamy Cauliflower

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Andrea

Growing up, cauliflower wasn’t one of my favorite vegetables. I would eat it if I came across it on a veggie tray but that was with the help of some serious ranch dressing. Otherwise I didn’t touch the stuff.

Developing into an adult and with my ever expanding list of “Foods I Didn’t Eat But Do Now”, I decided to give cauliflower another try. I liked it well enough but then I discovered roasted cauliflower and fell immediately in love. We’ve been having roasted cauliflower at the HQ a lot this year!

Recently Scott and I were discussing Thanksgiving plans and possible side-dishes to make. The topic revolved around either sticking with the same old stuff or branching out and trying something new. One of the things he suggested was a creamy cauliflower type dish.

Hrm….

That got my wheels spinning and I decided to do a test run that very night! I came up with this creamy cauliflower casserole that both of us adored. It’s got a cheese sauce and prosciutto, so how can you go wrong?